Offshore production platforms often produce very large amounts of natural gas along with liquid hydrocarbons. In many cases, the amount of natural gas produced is so large that it cannot be flared from a location on the platform because of the great amount of heat produced. Instead, a flaring structure is set up at a distance away from the platform and connected to the platform by an undersea conduit, to flare the gas. However, care must be taken that the flaring structure and anchoring structure therefor do not break up even in very large storms. Also, that motions of the flaring structure are minimized so its top is always above the splash zone, so the part of the structure above sea level does not break, and so hoses carrying gas to the lower part of the structure are not highly tensioned. These requirements must be met while still minimizing the cost of the flaring structure and maximizing its trouble-free life. An apparatus for flaring large amounts of gas at a distance from a production platform, which could be constructed economically and yet remain reliably intact over a long lifetime and even in very heavy storms, would be of considerable value.